Why criticism of Rashford is unfair

Saf94

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I’ve seen a lot of criticism of Rashford for not being clinical enough and a lot of arguments that he isn’t good enough to lead the line. This is entirely unfair in my opinion and the reason for that is Rashfords problems actually are mostly not his fault but really the fault of our build up and ability to create good chances.

Most teams who score lots of goals do so not because they have extremely clinical strikers but because they create very good chances. A very good chance in my book is a chance where the attacker has the ball at his feet in a good goal scoring area with time to shoot. Now analyse the difference between Rashfords goals this season vs Sterling’s goals this season
Look how many of Sterling’s goals are good chances (according to the definition above) vs Rashfords. Rashford has maybe 1 good chance, the one against Newcastle, 2 if you count the Bournemouth one but that was due to a defenders mistake so a bit of luck there. Comparing to Sterling where many many of his goals are tap ins and open goals let alone him just being in the box with time to shoot.

The truth is our build up play is terrible and a huge reason why our strikers look terrible. Rashford in City’s system would score 20 a season, he has the instinct to get into good positions and he’s makes runs all day. Yes he can improve his composure and decision making but tell me how many 21 year olds aren’t like that? He has a bright future but the perspective on him is hampered by how poor our service is to him and how bad we are at shifting defences to give him good opportunities.
 
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El Jefe

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It's not unfair in my opinion. All we heard from the British media and pro United academy posters were signing Zlatan and Lukaku was blocking Rashford from being our main man up front. Well he finally had his chance and he's being judged against the standards of a United leading striker. He started great under Ole as did the whole team but has been very poor in the last third of the season.

Rashford two main problems are that he's one dimensional up front and that he overrates his own ability. Whenever space to run in behind is cut off, he becomes quite pointless. He doesn't have the hold up play or close control to play against tight defences, he's also very poor in the air so crosses are a waste of time. This is when we see him try wild shots from way out or just kick and run the ball into no mans land.

We've been told how great a player he is and that he's a potential world beater. You even have some comparing his stats to Rooney and Ronaldo at a similar age. I don't believe he's been criticised anywhere near enough outside of Manutd forums.
 

Mr Chutney

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Yeah, but he wants to be the number one striker at Manchester United.

Should it not be expected that he be criticised, he’s been a bit shite.

:confused:
 

siw2007

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He does need to get better in front of goal. There is no doubt about that. Also his hold up play has to get better.

However I stand by the fact that the reason that his form has plummeted in the final month or so was because he was crocked. He’s been playing with a bust ankle and shoulder for a while which has killed his game. So perhaps he should get some slack here.
 

fps

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The only reason it's unfair is because he's young and has room for improvement - he should not be shouldering the burden of being Man Utd's main striker at the moment as he is too young and inconsistent to do so, and still learning his role.

The idea that people should be creating better chances for him is exactly the kind of entitlement that would lead to the death of his career. He needs to work on his off-the-ball movement to be more effective, and work on making the right choices with the ball at the right times.
 

#07

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Thread after thread making excuses for players. It has to stop.

Look I love Marcus, he's one of our own and he is years away from a peak that I fully expect to be pretty f'n good. At the moment though he isn't delivering the goods. Its that simple. As long as people keep scratching his balls we can't expect him to push on either.

This is Man Utd. Like Evra said the other day the standard is that if we don't win criticism has to come. Otherwise we get used to being 6th.

In their dark days Liverpool had strikers like Fowler and Owen who, younger than Rashford, were banging in goals. If we're saying its acceptable to slip below even that standard then we better start counting the decades to the next title.
 

lsd

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I think the main criticisms of Rashford are his lack of intelligence on the ball and the fact he is far too selfish.

I dont consider these unfair as its clear to see in his play
 

Will Singh

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I think it's unfair as he's still young and learning BUT he needs to be managed properly and IMO shouldn't be starting every match. There's also a danger of him becoming the next Welbeck as when he has time to think he wastes it but if its instinctive he puts it away, defo reminds me of Welbeck from that.
 

Red00012

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I’ve seen a lot of criticism of Rashford for not being clinical enough and a lot of arguments that he isn’t good enough to lead the line. This is entirely unfair in my opinion and the reason for that is Rashfords problems actually are mostly not his fault but really the fault of our build up and ability to create good chances.

Most teams who score lots of goals do so not because they have extremely clinical strikers but because they create very good chances. A very good chance in my book is a chance where the attacker has the ball at his feet in a good goal scoring area with time to shoot. Now analyse the difference between Rashfords goals this season vs Sterling’s goals this season
Look how many of Sterling’s goals are good chances (according to the definition above) vs Rashfords. Rashford has maybe 1 good chance, the one against Newcastle, 2 if you count the Bournemouth one but that was due to a defenders mistake so a bit of luck there. Comparing to Sterling where many many of his goals are tap ins and open goals let alone him just being in the box with time to shoot.

The truth is our build up play is terrible and a huge reason why our strikers look terrible. Rashford in City’s system would score 20 a season, he has the instinct to get into good positions and he’s makes runs all day. Yes he can improve his composure and decision making but tell me how many 21 year olds aren’t like that? He has a bright future but the perspective on him is hampered by how poor our service is to him and how bad we are at shifting defences to give him good opportunities.
It’s not. Close thread.
 

VP89

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It’s not. Close thread.
Seconded. We all watch United games. His individual mistakes are far too common and he's pretty shite most the time.

He has ridiculous armor at the club being English and a local lad, and young. But he's just not that good.
 

Aloysius's Back 3

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@Saf94

I agree with you.

Our attackers have to create chances themselves. Be that Martial, Rashford or Lukaku - all three find the ball at their feet, the defence in front of them & all the world left to climb before scoring a goal.

No crosses good enough to score a header. No pullbacks to score a tap in at the far post. Sure we can ask about players runs behind the defence but where exactly are the through balls? I don't see any. Pogba is an average midfield dictator that in a city squad finds up 4th best behind 2 silvas & de bryune whilst he is the strongest we have. Yet we always blame the strikers to finish of the chances - yeah what chances? This is why I couldn't give a rats butt that Herrera has gone because as a midfielder his ability to create was much less than average.
 

Zlatattack

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His poor form has coincided with the teams poor form and you know how hysterical people get here.

Rashford is a good player, he's just not a great player yet. He has plenty of improvement to do. Sterling has improved as a player under Pep. Sure he gets loads more chances, but he also makes them too and he finishes them.
 

VP89

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His poor form has coincided with the teams poor form and you know how hysterical people get here.

Rashford is a good player, he's just not a great player yet. He has plenty of improvement to do. Sterling has improved as a player under Pep. Sure he gets loads more chances, but he also makes them too and he finishes them.
Sterling is a much better player than Rashford, and he was much better than Rashford when he broke out for Liverpool. Apples and pears.
 

Zlatattack

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Sterling is a much better player than Rashford, and he was much better than Rashford when he broke out for Liverpool. Apples and pears.
Sterling was ace that one season with Suarez. After that he dipped into headless chicken mode for a while.
 

VP89

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Sterling was ace that one season with Suarez. After that he dipped into headless chicken mode for a while.
Yeah, he took time to adapt to his new surroundings but as a player his general play was far more polished than Rashford. It was obvious he was going to turn into a star. With Rashford it's not so obvious. He's very much kick and rush. His finishing is inconsistent, his general dribbling is no way near the hype and he misplaces pass too often with silly flicks every now and again. He's way behind Sterling in general play, and this is when he had a solid half season of leading the line for us.
 

Paxi

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Listen I’ve made a thread about how the lad was on par with Mbappe. Sometimes you can’t wish things into existence. He could be an excellent player but he seems to be doing stupid shit on the pitch over and over and over.
 

Sterling Archer

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This guy used to be our second choice striker option:


That's the quality and consistently effective striker Rashford needs to aspire. He isn't even close right now.
 

Bojan11

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Selfish.

Can’t dribble.

Can’t pass.

Can’t head the ball.

Can’t hold the ball up.

Only good for running in behind. He’s nowhere near good enough for a team that wants to be in top four. If we had Arsenal’s striker we would have made top four easily.
 

Revaulx

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Honestly don’t know. Our entire attack is dysfunctional. There’s absolutely no guarantee that it would improve if we “upgraded” him.
 

Sterling Archer

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Selfish.

Can’t dribble.

Can’t pass.

Can’t head the ball.

Can’t hold the ball up.

Only good for running in behind. He’s nowhere near good enough for a team that wants to be in top four. If we had Arsenal’s striker we would have made top four easily.
Thought it was interesting to see Greenwood come in and outshine Rashford. Getting into the right positions, he was getting chance after chance that I don't see often with Marcus. The lad has a ton of talent but the seasons misery has gotten to him.
 

Bojan11

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Honestly don’t know. Our entire attack is dysfunctional. There’s absolutely no guarantee that it would improve if we “upgraded” him.
Swap Rashford and Aubamayang then we’d easily make top four.
 

RooneyLegend

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He'd be great for a side like Atletico. Not to sure he fits in the side we're trying to build. With Ajax we saw the value of having a forward who's technically great which is why we should probably think of Martial as our future 9 till Greenwood. He's also a better finisher.
 

calodo2003

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Christ, yet another apologist.

We saw this season that Rashford is not very good & the potential ceiling we all hoped he had was lowered considerably. To keep pining for the player we saw early in his career is insanity, regardless the style of football we played.

I hope he proves me massively wrong, but I cannot envision such after his past season.
 

Canagel

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Too limited technically to be the United striker. Grenwood is what people thinks Rashford is.
 
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adexkola

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I've been shouting this shit in other threads. For a top 6 side we are utterly shit at creating chances. Blame it on our pedestrian play that can't shift defenses out of position, or the lack of wingers/fullbacks that cannot cross, or strikers that can't perform magic and pull chances out their ass.

That has to change next season regardless of who starts up front.
 

BlueHaze

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Criticism of someone doing bad is never unfair no matter who the player is.
 

Raoul

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I’ve seen a lot of criticism of Rashford for not being clinical enough and a lot of arguments that he isn’t good enough to lead the line. This is entirely unfair in my opinion and the reason for that is Rashfords problems actually are mostly not his fault but really the fault of our build up and ability to create good chances.

Most teams who score lots of goals do so not because they have extremely clinical strikers but because they create very good chances. A very good chance in my book is a chance where the attacker has the ball at his feet in a good goal scoring area with time to shoot. Now analyse the difference between Rashfords goals this season vs Sterling’s goals this season
Look how many of Sterling’s goals are good chances (according to the definition above) vs Rashfords. Rashford has maybe 1 good chance, the one against Newcastle, 2 if you count the Bournemouth one but that was due to a defenders mistake so a bit of luck there. Comparing to Sterling where many many of his goals are tap ins and open goals let alone him just being in the box with time to shoot.

The truth is our build up play is terrible and a huge reason why our strikers look terrible. Rashford in City’s system would score 20 a season, he has the instinct to get into good positions and he’s makes runs all day. Yes he can improve his composure and decision making but tell me how many 21 year olds aren’t like that? He has a bright future but the perspective on him is hampered by how poor our service is to him and how bad we are at shifting defences to give him good opportunities.
Being clinical and creating good chances aren't mutually exclusive. Its also a bit strange comparing two entire different players with different skill sets. There's no indication Rashford would become Sterling even if he had better chances to work with.
 

andersj

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I’ve seen a lot of criticism of Rashford for not being clinical enough and a lot of arguments that he isn’t good enough to lead the line. This is entirely unfair in my opinion and the reason for that is Rashfords problems actually are mostly not his fault but really the fault of our build up and ability to create good chances.

Most teams who score lots of goals do so not because they have extremely clinical strikers but because they create very good chances. A very good chance in my book is a chance where the attacker has the ball at his feet in a good goal scoring area with time to shoot. Now analyse the difference between Rashfords goals this season vs Sterling’s goals this season
Look how many of Sterling’s goals are good chances (according to the definition above) vs Rashfords. Rashford has maybe 1 good chance, the one against Newcastle, 2 if you count the Bournemouth one but that was due to a defenders mistake so a bit of luck there. Comparing to Sterling where many many of his goals are tap ins and open goals let alone him just being in the box with time to shoot.

The truth is our build up play is terrible and a huge reason why our strikers look terrible. Rashford in City’s system would score 20 a season, he has the instinct to get into good positions and he’s makes runs all day. Yes he can improve his composure and decision making but tell me how many 21 year olds aren’t like that? He has a bright future but the perspective on him is hampered by how poor our service is to him and how bad we are at shifting defences to give him good opportunities.
I do think Rashford have to improve a lot to be a regular centre forward at Man Utd. At the same time, I do feel people tend to forget or underestimate thag he is very young. Physically he will have to improve a lot. And I’m sure he will.

Mourinho and van Gaal made a point out of him being a late developer physically when talking about his growth. That makes the number of games he has played in the PL for Man Utd at the age of 21 quite special. Where was players like Nistelroy, Shearer, Henry or Drogba at the same age?

I looked at some key figures at understat and compared him to Firmino this season. I excluded all numbers that were not as a striker for both players:

Rashford vs Firmino
G90: 0,38 vs 0,39
xG90: 0,40 vs 0,53
Sh90: 3,24 vs 2,24
A90: 0,16 vs 0,34
xA90: 0,24 vs 0,26
KP90: 1,56 vs 1,56

Obviously, Firmino is a better player and these numbers dont tell us the entire story (Firminos hold up and link up play is great!). But Firmino is also part of a much better team. I feel certain that Rashfords numbers would be significantly improved if he played for Liverpool.

And we now compare Rashford to a striker that is a brazilian international that plays in a team that have more than 90 points in the PL and have reached the final in the CL. He is also six years older than Rashford and at his peak. Firmino at 21 was an attacking midfielder at Hoffenheim. (When we were linked with Firmino in 2015 (when he was 24) most people at the Caf was very sceptical about him.)

Rashford need to stop with all the fancy trickery and move the ball quickly and efficiently. If he keeps his head down and continue working hard, I’m sure he will be a great player within a few years.
 

SouthPredators4

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Too limited technically to be the United striker. Grenwood is what people thinks Rashford is.
Exactly. Sometimes we just gotta admit that Rashford is a good player but currently undeserving to be the main striker for us. Look at the Cardiff game. MG is playing on the right while Rashford is in the middle. Yet MG was miles better than him and Jesse in getting into goalscoring positions, close control, tight spaces, and passing.
 
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redtony

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My problem with Rashford is that while he has talent, he also looks like he doesn't know what type of player he is.

Whenever he plays on the wing, hes focused on cutting in and getting a shot off, instead of looking to create.
As a striker he doesn't look like hes watching the spaces and only moves when the ball is played to him.
Not sure if he wants to be a striker but he definitely doesn't look intelligent enough to be a starter
 

barmyarmy

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Ashley barnes has outscored this guy for 3 season running and yet we compare him to mbappe
 
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Canagel

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Exactly. Sometimes we just gotta admit that Rashford is a good player but currently undeserving to be the main striker for us. Look at the Cardiff game. MG is playing on the right while Rashford is in the midfield. Yet MG was miles better than him and Jesse in getting into goalscoring positions, close control, tight spaces, and passing.
This. Greenwood much like RVP doesn't need to do blind running or shooting from wherever he wants from desperation. His positioning to receive the passes and skill to create the half of yard of space will ensure he's getting more chances than the others. Even with our problems across the field a top striker would have still banged in 15-20 goals this year.
I don't see Rashford to become top striker any more. Whatever strikers instinct he had is lost and he became too selfish. He'll be back onto the wing soon like the other speed merchant English wingers that came before him ie lennon/walcott. Or wide forward like in the England set up.
 
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passing-wind

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Rashford is simply not good enough, if anyone thinks Marcus is ready then it highlights the mediocrity that fans have become accustomed to.

We've always had prolific front men: Rooney, Ruud, RVP, Tevez, Cantona, Cole to name a few Rashford doesn't come close, he was never reputable in the youth ranks and forged a career dependent on the likes of Wilson etc injury's.

You play Lukaku over 40 games and Rashford over the same amount who's likely to score more goals ? Lukaku is nowhere near the standard required for a league campaign and if Rashford isn't as prolific as Romelu what does it say about our attacking options.
 

cyril C

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You can always hide behind someone when you are #2 striker of a club, but when you are being #1, you better bang in goals every 2 game. The only one that I feel sorry is Giroud, who does a lot but still no first team chance. If Rashford still think he needs time to improve then perhaps he should have never be the #1 striker.
 

kerryman

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Midtable striker. Truth will eventually out. I don't think he will make it here.
Agreed, compare him to a young Fowler, Owen, Rooney who were banging in goals at a much younger age. It's not even close.
He's very one dimensional. His main attribute is speed. You need a lot more than that to be a top striker in a top team.
Compare him to Luka Jovic who is of a similar age, Jovic looks like a more complete striker and I'd wager he'll be far more successful over his career. All the top teams in Europe are after him. How many are after Rashford?
That Barcelona story is bs, as if they would want him, let alone pay 100m for him!
Look, it's good to see kids come up from our academy. I see why people want him to succeed, he's young, British and a local lad from the academy but that's not enough. No room for sentimentality if you want to be successful.
The sooner it's realised that he's not good enough to lead our line and we get a top class striker in the sooner we start moving back towards the top of the table.